News Roundup: Sept. 10

The Bushes gathered together Hollywood celebrities and musicians Monday at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts for a musical tribute honoring the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. At the second Concert for America (the first took place 13 days after the attacks), opera tenor Placido Domingo joined Latin pop star Enrique Iglesias and country singer Alan Jackson in a musical performance, while actors Angela Bassett and James Earl Jones gave dramatic readings. The show will air on NBC Wednesday.

Celebs

Let’s hope this the last time we have to write about this, now that it’s official: The Russian Space Agency sent a letter to NASA Monday stating ‘N Sync member Lance Bass will not be visiting their international space station anytime soon. Last week, the agency kicked Bass off the flight crew for his failure to raise the $20 million fee in time, but Bass’ sponsors hoped to continue the negotiations. Not anymore. “The letter speaks for itself,” NASA spokeswoman Debra Rahn told the Associated Press. “They’ve officially withdrawn Mr. Bass from the flight.”

After establishing a nonprofit summer camp to help girls develop self-esteem in California, supermodel Tyra Banks plans on opening one in South Florida. Called T-Zone, the weeklong, all-expenses-paid camp for girls ages 13 to 15 helps the teenagers deal with body image, self-doubt and pressures from boys. Banks wants to open camps all over the country. “I want to take it national as soon as possible,” Banks told Sun-Sentinel. “But I want quality control. I want it to be like McDonald’s or Coca-Cola. It’s the same everywhere.”

Movies

Actor Brad Renfro has dropped out of the film Freddy vs. Jason, the ultimate horror showdown between to two infamous killers–Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Freddy Krueger and Friday the 13th‘s Jason Voorhees. Renfro will be replaced by Jason Ritter (Swimfan), son of actor John Ritter.

Director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld (Kissing Jessica Stein) will direct Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. The sequel to the 2001 summer sleeper hit Legally Blonde continues the adventures of Harvard Law School grad Elle Woods as she heads to Washington to take on the politicians.

Tube

Get ready for more Mr. French and Mrs. Beasley. The WB has remade the sappy ’60s show Family Affair, where cute twins Jody and Buffy Davis, along with their teenage sister Sissy, descend upon their Uncle Bill (Gary Cole), a devout bachelor and his stuffy butler, Mr. French (Tim Curry). The one-hour series pilot airs Thursday at 8 p.m. What’s next? The Courtship of Eddie’s Father?

Music

A tour bus for Eminem‘s Anger Management Tour caught fire Sunday on a highway in Michigan, when friction from a flat tire ignited the vehicle. AP reports only the bus driver was on board the bus, which was reserved for Eminem‘s managers, when the fire started and was not injured. Eminem finished his tour Sunday night at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot, known for his ’70s hits such as “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown,” was recovering in the intensive care unit Monday in Toronto after suffering from internal bleeding in his abdomen. He is stable but doctors told Reuters his condition is serious and will have to be closely monitored over the next few days.